Delhi court whacks CBI for non-submission of final report in coal scam

A Delhi Court has whacked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for non-submission of final report in connection with the coal scam case. The court directed the CBI to submit the report by March 24. Earlier on March 6, the special court had directed the CBI to expeditiously file its further probe report in a coal block allocation scam case against Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal besides others. CBI submitted that the final report is pending with the competent authority for approval. Special Judge Bharat Parashar observed that the matter was getting delayed unnecessarily and said that & quot sufficient time has already been granted for filing report of further investigation.& quot In the previous hearing, the court had granted two weeks' time to the CBI to file the final report in a proper format in the cases against Jindal, ex-Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao and others. The CBI has alleged Koda had favored Jindal group firms -Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Private Ltd (GSIPL) -in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand. All the accused had opposed the contentions of the CBI saying there was no evidence to show that there was any conspiracy during the coal blocks allocation process. They had also denied the allegations leveled against them by the CBI in its chargesheet. On February 20, the Special Court had adjourned the hearing for March 6, as the CBI sought more time to examine documents pertaining to the matter. The court allowed the plea of the investigating officer seeking time on the ground that he had finalized the report and forwarded it to senior authorities and was awaiting approval.

To prevent the unnecessary delay in the further proceedings of the scam, it was important that the CBI makes the submission of the reports soon. The court had already granted them enough time to make sufficient perusal in the matter. Any further delay shall only cause hindrance in final call of justice.